First impression and perception is so important when selling a house. Do you know that lots of buyers get turned off the moment they pull up to you’re ‘for sale’ house? Or when they walk in, they are slammed with lots of personal properties/ clutter. In real estate clutter doesn't necessarily mean 'junk', it just means ‘personal properties’ that needs to be removed in order to appeal to most buyers.
Let's briefly talk about some of the things sellers should keep in mind when selling their house. These are not in any particular order.
1) Front- make sure the lawn is well kept, remove any debris, repaint the old rusted mailbox, have a nice new ‘welcome’ mat, clean the patio, pay attention to the front door knobs and update the front lamp.
2) Entry- make sure the entryway does not have lots of personal things inhibiting buyers from having a clear view into the rest of the house. Reduce/ eliminate any odor (cigarette, pets, strong spices, etc). With this being a buyers' market, this can easily turn them away.
3) Living Room- Avoid having too many/ big furniture that will make the space look small. Remove/ reduce personal pictures/ artifacts. It is always good to paint walls with neutral colors. The key is to not narrow the pull of buyers that can be interested in your home.
4) Kitchen- Most of us do this. We tend to have too many things on the countertops; even things we only use once a week. 
My suggestion is to remove all of the things you do not use often and if it still looks cluttered, remove more and put where you can readily access them. Remove that white toaster oven or can opener since the rest of the appliances are black; unless you have a black and white kitchen. CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. Did I say CLEAN? 
Buyers can EASLY get turned off when they see food crumbs on the counters, sink full of dirty dishes and spaghetti sauce all over the stove. Ok, I may be exaggerating a little but you will be amazed what people think will sell. If you think this can be overwhelming, you're right. So I suggest hiring a professional cleaner to help.
5) Bathroom- CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! I know we love to use all kinds of condiments but it so important for buyers to see how much counter space that will get if they buy. Unless the theme of the bathroom is incorporated with multi-colors, please remove any thing that will throw the color scheme off (yeller rubber duck, lime green sponge, etc.).
Obviously it's difficult to notice these things if you are the seller, so what I try to do is have my sellers view other homes that will be in competition with them. Remember, any house can sell depending on its price; however, in order to get 'Top Dollar', you will need to appeal to a broad range of buyers. Please note that I am not saying that your house needs to look generic. It’s just that neutral wall colors appeal to most buyers. 
So the moral of this blog is: The way we live when we are selling our home is different from when we are not selling. Until next time, let’s get your house ‘SOLD’! 